Many people add a disclaimer that their beliefs do not reflect those of their agency. Mine do. I represent the Aurora (IL) Police Department and I strive to keep my values aligned. Here are some of my thoughts.

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Wednesday, February 26, 2014

When I was a rookie cop, I responded to a call for a man who reported that his home had been burglarized.

My partner and I arrived on the scene and checked the exterior of the home for forced entry and found none. Once we made contact with the homeowner, he explained that the burglars hadn’t taken anything from his home. Instead, they moved the remote control to his television and emptied his ice-cube trays.

I stopped taking notes for a moment and made eye contact with my partner who happened to be a veteran officer. A look of clarity came over his face but I was still perplexed. He engaged the man in some more discussion and we learned that he suspected his neighbors of breaking into his home and moving his belongings. He further declared that they installed hidden cameras so they could monitor his movement. I looked around for evidence of such but found nothing to support his claim.

When we asked him why he suspected his neighbors, he calmly stated that the “voices” told him. It turned out the voices were keeping him awake that night – much like they do every night. My partner knew what we were dealing with about 12 seconds into our encounter. It took me a bit longer given my novice status.

We went on to ask him what the voices were saying so we could determine if he was a danger to himself or someone else. As it turned out, the voices were just implicating his neighbors.

I recall being astounded by the way the man communicated articulately and with great clarity and detail. I always expected the mentally ill to resemble the cast of characters with whom I’d become familiar after reading “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest” in Mrs. Coleman’s 7th grade English class. The man seemed credible and nothing like I envisioned.

My partner retrieved a ball cap that was sitting on a shelf and approached the man. He told him that he was going to place the hat atop of his head and it was going to stop the voices. I froze as the man acquiesced and bent down to receive the hat. My partner placed it gently on his head and in a soothing voice said, “See? It works!” The man remained quiet for several seconds as though he was straining to listen for the voices and finally smiled.

That was my first encounter with a mentally ill person on the job. After that, I became a self-proclaimed expert in the field. All police officers are. Over the years, I’ve made foil helmets to block the voices, talked people into ambulances (one who ran down the street naked because he thought the devil set his clothes on fire), and I’ve watched family members beg the police “to do something”.

The National Institute of Mental Health estimates that 6% of the population suffers from serious mental illness (1 in 17 people). And by serious, I mean the kind where a person’s disorder drives them to hurt someone else. Sometimes it’s apparent as in my movie reference, but many times, you would never guess someone has mental illness.

This figure did not shock me given the amount of calls of that nature to which police officers respond. The man who heard voices was not a threat to us. But those calls put a strain on police manpower because of the time it takes to determine that the purported crime is not real and the creative problem-solving it takes to handle the incident so it doesn’t escalate.

Mental illness poses a significant problem for first responders and for the community as a whole and we have to try and come up with solutions together that help the patient and keep the public safe. The police can only take someone into custody for a mental health evaluation if they are danger to themselves or someone else.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

I inadvertently pulled in front of a car on a recent day causing the other driver to apply aggressive pressure on his brakes to avoid hitting me (aka: he slammed on his brakes). I cannot say how it happened because I really never saw him.

I tried to accelerate as he utilized his stopping power and by some force greater than both of us, we managed to avoid a collision (and by “we” I mean “he”).

I was driving my squad car. It is unmarked but you’d know it was a squad if you saw it because it has “M” license plates signifying “municipality”. If the car alone weren’t obvious enough, you’d see the Aurora Police Department patch on my shoulder if you pulled up next to me.

After I got my bearings back, I saw him coming up on my left and I knew what was about to happen because I’ve been on the other side of that scenario many times in my personal vehicle.

I have mastered the disapproving glare and the head shake that says without words, “Get your head out of your…err…the clouds.” Normally I find that people who know they’ve committed the driving mistake will avoid eye contact--- the universal sign for “I’m guilty”.

When he pulled up next to me to deliver the scolding, he saw my uniform and his anger went from an average intensity to outright rage. When I make an error driving, or do something to violate the law, my plight is magnified. I’m a police officer. I should know better. I’ve driven eight hour shifts over the course of 20 years (give and take the inside jobs) so I should be an expert at driving.

Instead of avoiding eye contact, I rolled down my window and fell upon the proverbial sword and said “I’m so sorry – it was totally my fault.” He yelled, “You almost killed us!!” To which I replied, “I know – but thanks to your awesome thigh strength you hit that brake with vengeance!” He laughed. Whew. The truth is, I knew I screwed up and I was sorry and I spent the entire length of the red light telling him so.

Sometimes mistakes are made by people wearing a uniform. At the Aurora Police Department, I have the responsibility of recommending discipline for officers in my chain of command. The Chief has the final determination on whether to accept my recommendations and I try really hard to be even-handed and fair in every case.

One thing I consider is whether the mistakes are of the head or of the heart.

Mistakes of the heart are not intentional. Mistakes of the head are calculated.

I have little tolerance for the latter because it is clear that the act was done knowingly and willfully.

Mistakes of the heart happen to those of us with the best of intentions. But for police officers, even mistakes of the heart can be devastating if they cause harm to someone else. (Shooting a person who is holding a cell phone when the officer thought it was a gun is a good example.)

Police officers don’t have the luxury of forgiveness for those types of grave mistakes. But even in the seemingly miniscule situations, we have to be impeccable. It is a source of frustration when officers are caught talking on their cell phone or violating the same law by which we expect others to abide.

Had my traffic mishap resulted in a collision, I should have been issued a citation. I am not above the law because I have a badge and carry a gun. Quite the contrary.

We are human. We will make mistakes and some will be forgivable and some not. But there is no place for a willful disregard of the law. Police officers must follow the laws that we are sworn to uphold.

Aurora Police Department

About Me

I am the Chief of the Aurora Police Department in Illinois.
I hold a Bachelor’s Degree in Criminal Justice from Aurora University and a Master’s Degree in Criminal Justice Management from Boston University. I am a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government (Senior Executives in State and Local Government) and am a proud graduate of the FBI National Academy #249. I am currently pursuing a 2nd Master's Degree in Homeland Security and Defense at the CHDS Naval Postgraduate School.
I've been with the Aurora Police Department since 1991 where I started as a police cadet. During my 20+ year career, I've worked in various divisions including Community Oriented Policing, Domestic Violence Reduction Unit, Field Training and Patrol. Prior to my promotion to Chief, I served as the Patrol Commander and the Investigations Commander.
My passion is public speaking and teaching. I helped found "Blue Courage" which is a 2 day training course for police officers (see BlueCourage.com).